IgA nephropathy is the most frequent type of glomerular disorders worldwide, up to 60% of the patients eventually progressing to either end-stage renal disease or chronic renal failure after 20 years of follow-up. Although the pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy is still largely unknown, an initial response of intrinsic glomerular cells to IgA immune complexes, including abnormal glycosylated IgA1 as “neoantigen”, plays a primary role, whereby triggering release of cytokines and growth factors in the glomerulus affected. To date, a renal biopsy is required for diagnosis and prognosis of IgA nephropathy, but many patients might be reluctant to accept the invasive procedure, which might cause not diagnosed or delayed diagnosed until the clinical features are outward or a disease progression has already developed. Unfortunately, renal biopsy also entails risk for serious bleeding complications, which is a major negative impact on the diagnosis and prognosis for patients with the glomerular disorder.
There is still a need for additional biomarkers useful for diagnosis and prognosis of IgA nephropathy, especially in a non-invasive way.